Tiny and invasive bed bugs are known to hitchhike on items that enter your homes. Once these pests invade a home or business, they will multiply, and leave you with a full-blown bed bug infestation. It can be difficult to get rid of bed bugs once they’ve made themselves at home in furniture, bedding, and carpet. Let’s review all you should know about these pests and tips for avoiding bed bugs.
What Are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are reddish-brown, oval-shaped pests that are the size of an apple seed when they’re fully grown. These pests primarily feed on the blood of humans and animals, leaving red, itchy spots on the skin. Bed bugs are also expert hiders, creating difficulty when it comes time to identifying them and eliminating them.
How Do Bed Bugs Enter My Florida Property?
There are several notable ways that bed bugs can make their way inside a home. Bed bugs are known to latch onto clothing, luggage, and personal items we travel from place to place with. Likewise, infested hotel rooms, motels, public transportation, and even the homes of friends and family can be potential sources of a bed bug exposure. Second-hand furniture and used clothing could have been exposed to bed bugs. Any visitors that enter your home could be the culprits in a bed bug infestation, especially if they’ve also been dealing with these pests in their home too.
How Can I Avoid Bed Bugs?
Identifying bed bugs and acting quickly to eliminate them should be your plan of action if your home or business has been exposed to these pests. Consider following these preventative bed bug tips and steps to take if they’ve invaded:
- Always inspect secondhand items before bringing them into your home
- When traveling, make sure to inspect hotel rooms for signs of bed bugs and keep your luggage off the floor; we recommend placing it in the bathtub for extra protection!
- Regularly wash and dry your bedding, curtains, and clothing at high temperatures to eliminate potential bed bugs
- Use mattress and box springs encasements to reduce hiding spots for bed bugs
- If you’ve noticed bed bug signs in your home, call a pest control company near you with a licensed bed bug expert who can provide the appropriate bed bug control method based on your situation.
